1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus and a method of detecting a defective recording element, and particularly relates to a technology for detecting a defective recording element that causes image defects in a plurality of recording heads.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an ink jet recording apparatus that records a full color image, normally a recording head is provided for each of the inks of a plurality of colors such as cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, and the recording heads eject the inks of the respective colors onto a recording medium.
In order to determine whether a state of ejection of the recording head is normal, a method of recording a test pattern recorded for each recording head and determining whether each nozzle of the recording head is normal on the basis of the recorded test pattern has been performed.
JP2013-163318A discloses a technology for determining a frequency of evaluation for each recording head on the basis of a frequency of occurrence of a defective nozzle such as a nozzle causing ink ejection failure, which means that ink is not ejected, or a nozzle causing misalignment in landing which means misalignment between landing positions of ejected inks and desired landing positions thereof. Further, JP2014-4736A discloses a method of printing test patterns of respective colors in a predetermined order.